RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

SPECTRAL ANALYSIS
The figure below is passed through a 60 kHz band pass filter that has a -3 dB bandwidth of 10
kHz.
10

8
V1-pos / V

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Time/uSecs 10uSecs/div

Sketch the spectrum analyzer display of the above signal showing all relevant amplitudes and
frequencies up to the 7th harmonic.
10

5
Spectrum(V1-pos) / V

500m

200m
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

Frequency/kHertz 50kHertz/div

Sketch the frequency response of the band pass filter.

350

300

250
Output / mV

200

150

100

50

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Frequency/kHertz 10kHertz/div

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

The output of a signal generator is connected to a 50  load which is connected to a spectrum

analyzer. The spectrum analyzer indicates the following:
Fundamental frequency amplitude = 10 dBm;
120 kHz second harmonic frequency = -20 dBm; and
Third harmonic frequency = -40 dBc
Calculate the total output power, in Watts, of the signal generator.
P1 = 10mW
P2 = 10uW
P3 = 1uW
Pt = 10.011 mW

Calculate the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the signal generator.

V1 = 0.707
V2 = 22 mV
V3 = 7 mV
THD = 3.3 %

Sketch the spectrum analyzer display showing all relevant values of amplitude and frequency.

Frequency x 10 and Amplitude + 10

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

FREQUENCY GENERATION
The figure below represents a Class A radio-frequency (RF) amplifier.
VCC

390n 470n
3.3p L1 L2 4.7k
47k C1 R6
R1
10 12

R4 R5
1n
Q1
+Vin
Q2N2222
C3

1k 390 100p
R2 R3 C2

- Vin

Calculate the operating frequency of the tank circuit.

4.436 MHz

What type of capacitor is best suited for use in tank circuits at low frequencies?
Silvered-Mica

The inductor in the tank circuit must meet which two criteria?
Low parasitic capacitance
Stable unloaded Q

A NE564 phase lock loop (PLL) has an output voltage controlled frequency (VCO) of 5 MHz at
20 ºC. The manufacturers indicate a 500 ppm / ºC frequency drift with temperature on their
datasheet.
Calculate the new output frequency in kHz if the temperature changes to 25 ºC.
500 Hz / °C
Frequency drift = 0.5 kHz / °C x 5 ºC
New frequency = 5 000 kHz + 2500
New frequency = 5002.5 kHz

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

Asses the utilization of a LC oscillator as the reference frequency section in this PLL.
The output frequency will drift as the LC oscillator is unstable with temperature change

Design a frequency synthesizer that will generate the very high frequency range (FM = 88 – 108
MHz) used for radio broadcasts in South Africa. The reference frequency must be 50 kHz.
Utilize some of the following parts:
5 by Binary coded decimal (BCD) programmable dividers with a maximum input
frequency of 20 MHz;
1 by NE 568A PLL with a maximum output frequency of 150 MHz;
1 by XR 215 PLL with a maximum output frequency of 35 MHz;
1 by 1 MHz crystal oscillator; and
1 by 15 / 16 Dual modulus prescaler

Sketch and label the frequency synthesizer.

Calculate the maximum and minimum divider values for the feedback circuit (Remember that
NO decimals are allowed).
Nmax = 135
Nmin = 110

Calculate the span.

1.23:1

Calculate the output frequency for a BCD value of 0111 1100 in the feedback circuit.
N = 124
F = 99.2 MHz

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

Calculate the amount by which the crystal oscillator frequency must be reduced.
Q = 20

NOISE
List four different types of system noise as discussed by Young.
White or thermal noise
Shot noise
Flicker noise
Burst noise

The following circuitry exists in an electronic circuit operating at a 200 kHz bandwidth.

A B C D

Load

R = 1 k Gain1 = 10 dB Gain2 = 12 dB
NF1 = 2 dB NF2 = 10 dB

Calculate the noise voltage of the resistor (R) at 290 K.

En = 1.726 uV

Calculate the signal to noise ratio (S/N) at B if a 10 mV signal is applied at A.

S/N = 75.3 dB

Calculate the system noise figure of the two amplifiers.

NF = 2.485
NF = 3.9 dB

Calculate the noise temperature of the two amplifiers.

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

26 dB 430.65 K

Calculate the final S/N ratio developed over the load when using a 10 mV input signal at A.
93.4 dB

ANTENNAE
The following figure illustrates a common VHF antenna used in Gauteng for television
reception.

Determine the number of elements.

7 or 8

What arrays would you conclude are being utilized in this antenna?
Parasitic array
End-fire array

What is the common wavelength spacing between the elements?

0.15 – 0.25 λ

What technique could be employed to cancel feed-point reactance?

Altering the length of the driven element

Calculate the frequency of operation if the driven element was measured to be 0.7 m long.
203.57 MHz

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

Asses the value of lengthening the reflector

Improved bandwidth
Reduced gain

The following radiation pattern was obtained from a 15m Quad antenna.

Calculate the front-to-back ratio.

F/B = 9 dB

Calculate the -3 dB beamwidth.

56º

Determine the number of minor lobes.

2

What techniques could be applied to maximize the front-to-back ratio in a two element beam?
The reflector must be made longer than the driven element while the director must be
shorter

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

CELLULAR RADIO
A cell phone subscriber travels from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Along the way a call is made
to a close family member.
What role does the mobile identity number (MIN) play in making this call?
The network checks this number to authenticate any calls

Asses the value of “call handover” in this scenario

The subscriber moves from one cell to another. During this transition the call must be
handed over from cell to cell to avoid a break in reception

How will “call handover” be achieved?

The system monitors signal strength and quality
When the signal falls below a set threshold, the system allocates a channel for the call to
a new base station which is receiving a better quality signal
The mobile will also be instructed to shift to the new frequency

Complete the following table with regard to the GSM specifications. The answers are given in
bold.
Specification Value
Mobile transmit frequency range 890 – 915 MHz
Base station transmit frequency range 935 – 960 MHz
Channel spacing 200 kHz
0.3 Gaussian Modulation Shift
Modulation
Key (GMSK)
“Full-rate” traffic support per radio channel 8
Time slot period per user 576 us
Class 5 hand held output power 2W

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

METEOR BURST COMMUNICATIONS (MBC)

Complete the following table with regard to meteor burst communications.
Parameter Standard
Scattering of a radio
Phenomenon utilized signal from the
ionization trails
Useful frequency range 20 – 120 MHz
Antennas utilized Yagis or logs
Typical height of ionized meteor trail 100 km
Acceptable reflection loss 70 dB

Design a MBC system that will communicate over a distance of 1900 km when using the
following parameters:
Transmit power = 700 W
Receiver sensitivity = -120 dBm
Operating frequency = 33 MHz
MBC scatter loss = 60 dB
Transmit antenna gain = Receive antenna gain = 12 dBi

Calculate the system margin.

EIRP = 70 dB
LFS = 128 dB
Total = 188
Received = -106 dBm
Margin = 14 dB

Sketch and label the MBC communications overview.

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

SPREAD SPECTRUM TECHNIQUES

A direct-sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS) system requires 40 dB of continuous wave (CW)
interference rejection. It uses a 10-stage shift register m-sequence generator transmitting 500 b/s
binary message data on a 1 GHz carrier.
Calculate the minimum process gain if the minimum S/Nout = 10 dB and the system
implementation loss = 2 dB.
52 dB

Calculate the minimum required RF bandwidth.

79 MHz

Calculate the required code generator clock rate.

39.6 Mbps

Calculate the number of channels.

158 500

Discuss rough synchronization.

Receiver attempts to line up the local PN code as close as possible to the transmitters
Epoch synchronization in which the transmitter periodically sends a special
synchronization sequence
Unique short bit sequence as it is easily detected by a digital matched filter

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RAE4 Typical questions and POSSIBLE answers Exam Preparation

Phase synchronization where the receiver determines which 2n – 1 phase the M-Sequence
could be in
At least N bits would have to be received without error

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